County
Ullman Tosses Prosecutor Under Dynamis Bus
October 23, 2012 
When citizens challenged Ada Commishes over the handling of the Dynamis trash to energy lease at a Tuesday hearing, there was an interesting revelation from Commish Sharon Ullman who put the issue at the steps of the Prosecuting Attorney’s office.
As reported in the STATESMAN, Ullman asserted, “We have followed the advice of our attorneys,” Ada County Prosecutor Greg Bower and Chief Deputy Prosecutor Ted Argyle. We have followed their advice the entire time through this project. So these allegations of doing something illegal, need to be directed to the prosecutor’s office,” Ullman said.
The GUARDIAN has been critical of the attorneys, reminding them they should be working for the CITIZENS of Ada County, not just the commissioners.
If Ullman is to be believed, any legal irregularities uncovered by the current outside investigation should include the actions of the Prosecutor. When confronted by party faithful and county insiders about the scandal, county attorneys invariably respond with, “Our clients don’t always follow our advice.”
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Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
Oct 23, 2012, 8:57 pm
WHEN is someone going to start a RECALL petition? My wife and I will both sign on if they do. We will be gone for a while but will gladly sign on and do what we can.
They were elected to run the county at the will of people not visa versa.
I never voted for him after the sales tax issue at his Eagle business
Oct 23, 2012, 9:12 pm
Imagine a country without protected free speech and without a free press.
Use it of lose it however!
I fault the common resident of Ada for allowing the govt types to run so far off the leash.
I fault the free press for helping them do it; often times writing puff pices about wonderful money spending projects without asking why, how, and to what ends.
Oct 23, 2012, 10:15 pm
Wouldn’t it be, the Dynamis Burner?
EDITOR NOTE–Good point.
Oct 24, 2012, 6:26 am
I am concerned that what you predict is true: namely,that the hard push by Yzaguirre and Ullman is done to lock the County into this deal for the next 30 years before Ullman leaves office. They know Dave Case is opposed to the Dynamis arrangement (as is every other person on the planet it would appear other than the two of them) and would stop it in his tracks if he had a second vote. They fear Tibbs being elected and being that second vote. It will be much harder to stop it once it is in place. I think a lawyer needs NOW to get to court for a temporary restraining order.
Oct 24, 2012, 7:48 am
So who will step forward with the money to file a lawsuit? If people are serious I would suggest you contact Dave with your pledges. Talk is cheap–put your money where your mouth is
Oct 24, 2012, 8:13 am
A little hypocritical considering Ullman’s past critique of Argyle for ‘conflict of interest.’ See Ullman’s comments to the Guardian article.
https://boiseguardian.com/2006/09/06/ada-candidates-say-no-to-legal-fees/
Oct 24, 2012, 9:04 am
Per Boise county problem: Tibbs need not vote to block, but to start a review instead. Results of review perhaps will bring cause to stop. Can’t sue the county for doing the review.
EDITOR NOTE–Tibbs is a candidate and cannot vote until elected to the commission and seated in January 2013. Comment just doesn’t make sense, sorry.
Oct 24, 2012, 10:22 am
Clarification: Thinking into the future… Tibbs is likely to win. Boise county lost suit by rejecting recovery center without merit. This one needs review to find merit for reject. Tibbs and Case can make that happen and reverse what U & Y have done. U & Y know this, so they are closing as many doors as possible before U is gone. Injunction is also a good idea.
Oct 24, 2012, 10:22 am
The Safe Idaho Citizens group will be filing a legal action very soon and would appreciate any donations anybody here would like to provide. Our research is done and the arguments are prepared with supporting case law. We have just been waiting the outcome of this lease signing as well as whether the planning commission will choose to review the entire Dynamis project as requested by our 180 petitions presented on 9-11-2012.
Go to Idaho Safe citizens web site if you wish to contribute:
http://www.safeidahocitizens.org/
EDITOR NOTE–We will advise you publicly that success will depend upon the single issue of a CONSTITUTIONAL VIOLATION. The commishes violated Article VIII, sec. 4 when they gave Dynamis the $2 million. Judges hesitate to challenge actions of elected officials at the risk of “governing from the bench.” They also hesitate to grant standing to those who challenge actions of elected officials, usually ruling there is no “unique injury.”
HOWEVER, if you show a court the contract agreement to LOAN or INVEST public money in a private venture, you have a clear violation of the constitution and you have automatic standing (KOCH vs CANYON COUNTY Idaho supreme court). Give us a phone number of the lawyer and we will gladly walk him or her through it.
Oct 24, 2012, 11:15 am
Dave Case needs and deserves (as commissioner) an attorney other than the county prosecutor due to a definite conflict of interest. Case needs legal representation and advice he can count on and should make the request or demand. And the public deserves an attorney they can count on to represent the citizens and not just Ullman and Yzaguirre. The AG can hire someone if they won’t do it themselves. The county should pay for it if they have to hire someone.
EDITOR NOTE–We agree! The easiest way to do it is for the commissioners to hire outside council of their choice and simply deduct the fees from the budget of the Ada Prosecutor. The Commishes hold those purse strings. You are correct also in noting the prosecutor is elected by the citizens and it is the citizens who are the ultimate client.
Oct 24, 2012, 11:29 am
Landfill User – it’s A LOT hypocritical, and then add to it her stalwart stance that elected officials should communicate directly with the public. She’s been crickets since losing the election, and she full well knows it’s her hypocrisy that lost her that election.
Oct 24, 2012, 5:37 pm
I think everyone should contribute even if just $5 to the group wiling to bring suit. I sure will.
Oct 24, 2012, 5:48 pm
thanks “Another attorney” for that most excellent point. And, thanks to the Editor for his suggestion, too. I am once again mindful of the lame duck lag time between elections and term times, and wonder in our more modern times if we should not look at this with a view toward shortening this time period, at least for the local offices.
This entire mess was created by the extreme lack of awareness of the public with the officials actions, and we can fault ourselves, the media and the Commissioners for this lack of inter-action.
Oct 24, 2012, 7:00 pm
This is a public attorney’s biggest fear–a client that craps on them and then hides behind the privilege. If Bower has any stones, he would be meeting with her and the other two right now. If I was Bower (and she is not being truthful), I would publicly demand that she waive the privilege so I could release all written communication.
Oct 25, 2012, 6:55 am
All these comments and not a single word about the Hidden Springs development. They wanted the dump out of their back yard since the first house was built up there.
Citizens for safe Idaho? Give me a break.
If you were so concerned about safety then you wouldn’t be driving your SUVs at 70 mph up and down Pierce Park Road or Seamans Gulch Road or Cartwright Road.
Hey, Halloween is coming up, you might want to avoid cutting through on Harrison Blvd to Cartwright on your way home to your fantasy life suburb.
Oct 25, 2012, 5:30 pm
boisecynic: Really this isn’t just about Hidden Springs. Northwest Boise will probably be hit the hardest emission fall-out wise. As far as distance to the proposed site, Eagle Springs / Sage Acres / Lexington subdivisions in or near Eagle, Hidden Springs, and Riverglen area subdivisions in NW Boise are all just about the same distance.
Of course, there were houses up in the Dry Creek Valley before 1972 and the landfill. Not many, true. But more importantly, hay fields, many which are still there, and aren’t a good landing pad for dioxins.
Oct 26, 2012, 12:51 am
Boisecynic has a point about the speeding and SUV’s. ACHD put in four speed humps on West Hill Road as it has an immense amount of bike and pedestrian traffic, narrow roads, and elevation changes which cause blind spots. Even with the speed humps, some Hidden Springs residents still speed right over them on their hurried way in and out of town or to the Optimist Football Fields.
The speed limit is 25mph. If they want to drive 45mph just simply go to Hill Road Parkway and leave our neighborhood in peace.
LandfillUser has a point: EVERYONE in Ada County will be effected. Emissions don’t hang out in one place. Also, to do a waste to energy facility CORRECTLY is EXPENSIVE. Ask any WTE facility director. The whole county will pay for this debacle. Also for Ullman to try to discredit a committed and organized group based on where they live is crazy.
Crazy I say….simply crazy.
Oct 26, 2012, 12:59 am
Read about how Harrisburg, Pennsylvania is in $280 million in debit due to their waste to energy project. An average of $6,000 for every man woman and child.
This could be us.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/print/articles/smoke_598452.html
Oct 26, 2012, 1:01 am
Or Ada County Could STOP Dynamis As Green Bay Stopped Their WTE Plant
More than a year after approving a trash-recycling energy plant development, Green Bay aldermen have revoked a permit for the controversial project.
Several aldermen said they felt developer Oneida Seven Generations Corp. had misled the city about the proposed plant’s pollution and public health hazards.
“As time went on, things changed drastically,” said Alderman Tom DeWane, president of the City Council.
But neighboring residents and others later picketed and protested the development repeatedly, arguing that the developer had concealed how much the 60,000-square-foot plant would create air pollution and jeopardize public health. Opponents packed the City Council chambers Tuesday and urged aldermen to revoke the permit.
Aldermen voted to conduct an inquiry into the permit approval after hearing repeated accusations that the city was deceived about the plant, including its smokestacks and emissions.
The city Plan Commission heard four hours of testimony Oct. 3 before voting to recommend against revoking the permit. But members of the council overruled that recommendation Tuesday in voting to rescind the permit.
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20121016/GPG0101/121016071/City-Council-revokes-permit-trash-recycling-energy-plant?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CGPG-News&nclick_check=1
Oct 26, 2012, 1:02 am
Boise cynic: Your attitude and others like you are amazing naive for a cynic. Somehow, you think you will not be effected. Think again!
Oct 26, 2012, 9:39 am
Boisecynic I find it completely impossible to drive 40 miles per hour on Pearce Park let alone 70. Nobody up here has a problem with the land fill. We know its here and will be for the next 100 years so other than an occasional odor and trash from the trucks on Seamans gulch its not a problem. The problem is narrow minded individuals who are most likely jealous of the community up in Hidden Springs.
Oct 26, 2012, 10:25 am
Whether or not those who live near the proposed dynamis site are a bunch of speeding yuppies in urban assault vehicles who suddenly have a case of Not-In-My-Backyard-Syndrome is a distraction from the real issue of whether or not our elected officials have broken the law with this deal and/or at minimum what seems to be unethical manuvering to assure approval of a deal which every day seems worse. I do not have to know the details of the deal to oppose it, the demeanor of those ramming it through shows their guilt to me.
Oct 26, 2012, 12:29 pm
The impact of this scheme will be felt by every resident and taxpayer in Ada County. Let’s keep our eye on that.
The public may wish to testify before P&Z on the 8th, 6 pm, Ada County Court House. While P&Z has no authority other than to make a recommendation to the AC Commissioners, I feel it is worthwhile to have P&Z go on the record. Frankly, I think it’s to their advantage, too. Yes, it’s time to shake things up at the County and man up. Doing the right thing is never the wrong thing, despite advice to the contrary.